James Randerson, science correspondent
Saturday September 16, 2006
The Guardian

Soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq are being treated with an experimental blood-clotting drug that has not been fully tested.Because randomised controlled trials have not yet been carried out into the drug's effectiveness, it is impossible to know whether it is doing more harm than good to patients.

Veterans' support groups have criticised the Ministry of Defence action. One trauma expert has said soldiers treated with the drug could sue the MoD if trials produce evidence it is harmful.

Phil Willis, the Liberal Democrat MP who is chairman of the science and technology select committee, described the MoD's decision as "a dereliction of its duty of care that indicates a moral bankruptcy within the military".

The drug, called NovoSeven, was originally licensed in 1999 as a treatment to stem bleeding in haemophiliacs.